Sometimes Enough is Enough

or: Bert gets a piece

Over the past few days I have been questing in Nagrand, working on getting Bert up to level 70. This zone is the most fun for me and normally playing there is a pleasure.

However in the past few days I have seen a record number of ninjas and quest jumpers, and frankly just rude Alliance players all over the place.

So to make a short story long, I headed over to Wazat to complete his quest: Bring me the Egg.

This involves using the Jump-o-tron 4000 to jump into a nest high up into a tree, followed by looting an egg which will in turn summon the Windroc Matriarch, a level 67 elite bird for you to kill.

An Ally Warrior arrived at Wazat at the same time I did and we both made the jump. I missed, he made it and over the chat channel came the emote:

"**** laughs at you."

It was late, I was tired, and fed up with general rudeness and I guess I just snapped

After popping a quick bandage I Death Gripped the damn bird down to me and beat it to a pulp. I looted its claw and then sent a /moon right back at the guy.

Now I am not condoning ninja looting, griefing, or stealing another players summoned mob; but sometimes enough is enough!

The emote text read:

"Berthold dropps his pants and moons ****".

...and durnit if it if I didn't get a little satisfaction from it.

PUG'd Out

or Bringing Up Number Two

Arggghh. The realms are down for emergency maintenance. Darned lag and arena issues....

That's OK though it gives me a few moments to write a little update on the gang.

Fin has been working hard running PUG heroics, and we all know what a crap shoot that is. My experiences have been pretty positive though and I attribute that to the fact that he is a healer.

Here are some of the drops that he is sporting: Helm of Anomalus, Cape of Seething Steam, Gavel of the Fleshcrafter, Annhyld's Ring, and a Band of Guile.

For crafted epics I have been using Earthgiving Boots, and Earthgiving Legguards, and I am currently gathering materials for one Wispcloak.

Gathering the mats is kinda fun, I am currently working on gathering 100 clams to purchase a Siren's Tear from the Murloc Ahlurglgr in Borean Tundra.

Being a little tired with Pugs I decided it was time to start bringing up my second character. It looks like my Death Knight Bert will be the next to make the jump to Northrend.

Leveling has never been faster. I left Bert at Falcon Watch with about half of the Hellfire Peninsula quests finished. When I was done with Hellfire Bert was almost halfway through level 64 so I went ahead and skipped the Zangarmarsh and Terrokar Forest zones and went right to Nagrand.

The Nesingwary quests, half of the Garador, and Throne of the Elements quests have Bert at level 66. It is time to research DK tanking specs. I'd like to have that picked out by level 70 so I can be fully familiar with how the mechanics work when I try to start running level 80 dungeons.

Well, realms seem to be back up.

I'll keep you updated on my progress. I am also working on a post about how to use the Routes add on. Big Bear Butt mentioned it on his blog (I can't seem to find the post though), and I have fallen in love with it.

More later.

My next steps

Finegas, my horde druid has made his final loop through the Eastern and Western Plaguelands and is now ready to start the Outlands grind to level 70 in earnest. He is Hearthstoned to the Scryers landing in Shattrath (mainly because I've never seen it) and is about 30g away from his epic ground mount.

I did take the time to do a few of the level 58 quests just for the gear reset, then I came back to the Old World to finish up those questlines as recommended by the leveling guide I am using.

Fin will be starting the Outlands with decent gear, and halfway through level 60. So those beginning quests won't be as difficult as they were the first time through I hope.

Now I am taking a pause to consider how I wish to proceed, what my goals with Fin are, and reflect on the trip from 60 to 70 that I made on my hunter Viktel.

That seems so long ago now it's incredible.


Fin's trip thus far
I started Finegas up with the idea that having a hybrid class would help me see the endgame content. With the announcement of the Wrath expansion and it's Deathknights I hatched the plan to have one character for dps, one for healing, and one for tanking. That way I can experience the expansion from all perspectives. Fin for healing, the deathnight for tanking, and my not-so-lowbie-anymore hunter Lassiter for dps.

Then Vik can be my alliance side character so I can see that side of the game as well.

Through all of this I have been using James' Leveling Guides. They are free, and very good for getting through the lower levels quickly. The other thing I like about these guides is that if you are interested in the game content all you have to do is actually read the quest lines. You get the stories that go with the zones as well as lots of good xp.

Moving Forward
While leveling Finegas I have been a pretty regular reader of Big Bear Butt Blogger, I even have the coffee mug now. Its a match to my Big Red Kitty mug, I am such a geek!

Anyhoo! I now have a good source of information about how to play a druid tank until expansion time. And I have located a few good research sites for loots as well. I think it is time to sit down and make some lists up. I'll need armor for all three druid forms: caster, kitty, and bear. Some of that will be purchased, some will be quest reward, and some will be badges.

I'll probably not be pushing the BC endgame too much. I'm more interested in having my group of characters in position to roll into the new content. Once I am set there, and some of my guildies are closer to the endgame themselves I'll think about making some goals in that area.

I am really looking forward to my second trip through the Outlands. Much of which will be new since I am on the Horde side of the fence, and I have not done much of the questing for over 6 months. At least it will seem new, I hope.

The Alt. Report

Here is a little progress report on my little family of alternate Warcraft characters. Before I start here are the guides that I am currently using.

Jame's Horde Leveling Guide
Jame's Alliance Leveling Guide
Lootable.com Tradeskills Guides

Following these guides my group has been leveling quickly. James keeps you on the best quests in multiple zones, and minimizes the mindless grinds. Also, the quests tend to be chain quests so if you are into game content you won't be missing out, you just need to stop and read the quests.

Kallessin - Kal is my Drenai fire mage who is currently at level 49. His tailoring and enchanting skills are both at level 300, and are pending my first trip to the Outlands to get more training.

Kallessin is kind of my guilty pleasure, I am a terrible mage, just terrible. He is also a great money maker in that I'll scan the Auction House for those drops that are disenchant-able and selling at a discount. One nice surprise here was that there are no fees connected to the materials involved in enchanting. Can you say total profit?

Kal also just made his run to the Hinterlands and Zul'Farak to get his [Carrot on a Stick] trinket (thanks Darq!). I also already have the [Mithril Spurs], but am waiting for an equipment upgrade before attaching them to a set of boots. While in Zul'Farak a couple of nice caster leather items dropped that I was able to enchant and send to my druid Finegas (thanks again Darq!).

Hazzmat - Hazz is a Drenai Paladin specc'd into the protection tree. Currently level 33 Hazz made a big trip this week. I sent him off to an oceanic server as an experiment to see if I like playing with a server that is having its peak when I am playing. I am a bit of a night owl and frankly its nice to see other people in the zone with me. Then, since I enjoy doing my gathering in the morning I should see less competition for nodes since it is early morning in New Zealand.

Also Hazz just went through a nasty change in armor. He went from a cool looking set of blues to a nasty looking set of greens.... Really, it looks like Disney did a technicolor puke all over my Pally. And with no guild tabbard I can't hide it at all. Ack!

Lassiter - My little Orc Hunter is not so little anymore. He is currently level 38 and topping the lists in the battlegrounds. He just finished all three of the Hemingway Jr. quest lines and picked up some really trick gear. The boss fights aren't in the guide but what hunter could pass up [Tiger Hunter Gloves], [Panther Hunter Leggings], [Raptor Hunter Tunic], and a [Master Hunter's Bow]. I solo'd everything but King Bagalash, I was just about down for the count when a friendly Dranai pally stopped and helped me take Bags out. Thanks, whoever you are!!

and last but not least comes Finegas.
I just picked back up with Fin this morning and he is just starting in Stranglethorn Vale. He should be the last that goes through this. Fin just dinged 34 this morning and should be hitting 36 when I am done with rested points. Since the level 39 PvP bracket is where Druids really shine as flag runners I'll be getting the above equipment (minus the bow) to use in Warsong Gulch. Unless I have a field day on the auction house that is.

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

On the road again....

This morning I decided I would start back up with Lassiter, originally my practice lowbie hunter, now he is a full on alt. I started Lass up as a way to practice PvP skills when I came into the realization of just how big a hack of a hunter I was. He is also how I experience the horde-side game content.

He spent enough time in the level 19 bracket of Warsong Gulch to earn all of the PvP gear that a hunter would want, then screamed up to level 29. He has his boots and belt from Arathi Basin, and had just earned his [Outrider Bow].

This is where I started to enjoy my Druid Finegas. Fin is also now in the Level 29 PvP bracket and is working on his [Lorekeeper's Staff].

What caused me to pull Lass out early was the realization that I was simply running out of cash. I have a habit of searching the Action House for equipment upgrades and consumables. This has slowly been draining my bank roll in spite of my efforts with using Auctioneer and Bottomscanner to make extra gold.

So, as my prime gatherer Lass is back on the leveling trail. We headed out to Thousand Needles and began running quests. It took barely 2 hours to go from 29 to 31. In that time my boar Patches leveled from 27 to 30, and I broke Shepard (formerly Humar the Pridelord) out of the stables so we can go get him Dash and Prowl tomorrow evening.